It is the policy of Austin Peay State University to create articulation agreements
between the university and TCATs that are in compliance with SACSCOC.

Purpose

The purpose of this guideline is to establish the criteria and process for articulation
agreements involving career-technical education by the University as governed by the
Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees.

Procedures

Compliance with Accrediting Agencies

All articulation agreements with community colleges and universities should be in
compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’
Principles of Accreditation on Programs (reference 3.4), the Commission’s Position
Statement on the “Transfer of Academic Credit,” and its policy on “The Transfer or
Transcripting of Academic Credit.”

Specific articulation agreements between secondary education and the Tennessee Colleges
of Applied Technology must comply with the Council on Occupational Education’s Handbook
of Accreditation and its Policies and Rules.

Specific articulation agreements between the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology,
the community colleges and/or the universities will comply with those policies and
guidelines set forth by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission
on Colleges’ Principles of Accreditation and other relevant documents.

Articulation agreements must be in compliance with all applicable program accrediting
agencies.

Articulation Agreements

Articulation agreements must demonstrate compliance with the institutional policy. Articulation
agreements should ensure that students are not required by university, college or TCAT
procedure or regulation to pursue educational/training experiences that duplicate
competencies skills the individual already possesses for the individual to acquire
a credential.

Each articulation agreement should include:

Competencies that indicate that the learning outcomes specified in courses offered
by the lower-level institution satisfy learning outcomes in similar courses offered
by the upper-level institution. Syllabi and competency lists of the courses from the
institutions involved must be maintained in the appropriate offices of both institutions.

Details of the working articulation procedure;

Descriptions of required proficiency levels and criteria for measurement;

The evaluation plan and process; and

A renewal date for the agreement (Note: Because technology changes so rapidly it is
suggested that the period of review be no more than every three years).

Articulation and Challenge Assessments

If the university develops an option which permits the awarding of credit by assessment, the
following requirements should be met:

Award by assessment may be for up to seventy-five percent (75%) of the semester credit
hours required for the in accordance with SACSCOC guidelines [SC 3.5.2], unless the
program's professional accreditation agency designates in policy a lower transfer
percentage.

Credit awarded must be for specific courses.

The credit must be awarded only on the basis of successfully passing a challenge examination
or competency-based assessment procedure for which the standards for proficiency are
approved and accepted by the receiving department and the university.

If the university’s faculty develops the challenge examination or competency-based
assessment, and the content is equivalent to the regular on-site course’s competency-based
assessment the institution has the option of awarding a letter grade, rather than
a non-quality grade of “pass/fail,” and therefore count toward calculation of the
grade point average. The award of a letter grade must be in accordance with the policies,
regulations and guidelines of the institution’s accrediting agency.

General Requirements for Students

Students are required to conform to all institutional requirements for admission,
testing and placement.

Upon enrollment in the TCAT, college or university, extra-institutional credit will
be transcripted in a manner as to facilitate timely and adequate advising such that
a student does not duplicate skill/competency attainment realized in the previous
institution, i.e. is not required to repeat a course.